Words Unsaid
by Sal Tornado
Summary: Since that day they never saw each other ever again. She did her best to continue onward, simply believing he was out there somewhere. Some drabbles forming an awkward short story for Seiya and Miho, with some Kouga later on. SeiyaxMiho-age, obviously.
1. Unsaid

Unsaid

She was expecting it. She had been for a long time, now.

She knew things wouldn't reveal themselves exactly the way she wanted them to. She knew that the secrets she held inside of her would be exposed in not the most ideal way, and that the responses and reactions to such feelings wouldn't be taken the right way either. She knew she wasn't going to be met with the utmost approval, or the utmost confidence.

This was the one thing on Earth that would never, ever make sense to her. It was also her glaring weakness.

She fidgeted with her hair and walked out the door to see all of them standing by the entrance. The orphanage behind her felt so empty even though there were at least fifteen children gawking from the entranceway.

She walked up to him and they looked at each other for a long time, never saying a word.

Her lips parted to say something but quickly shut themselves again. Their eyes were steadily trained on one another, searching for some kind of cue to continue their charade. Maybe a joke would lighten the mood.

"You know, I…" he began, retreating slightly to mess with his hair.

"I know," she replied evenly. She was slightly relieved they didn't have to look at each other so intensely anymore.

"I'm not sure how long we'll be gone."

"I know."

"It could be a week, or several years."

"I know."

"This is hard for me too. I don't want to…leave things like this."

"I know."

She withdrew this time. When he extended his arms out for a hug she shook her head and reassured him in that way that always put him at ease.

"I'll hug you when you get back," she said with a smile. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

Seiya turned away and Miho watched him leave.


	2. Mundane

Things more or less remained the way they were. She did everything she could to keep adjusting and never to be still and stagnant. He wasn't like that, and neither was she.

She began educating herself and taking courses whenever she could, especially since some of the children were growing up and could actually help her run the orphanage. She worked harder than anyone else in her classes, and she lost a lot of hair for it, but she wanted to know it was all amounting to _something_. Doing something with herself and remaining productive prevented her from thinking about things that caused her great pain.

She didn't want to dwell on her worries about him, and simply wanted to believe (and pray) that he was still out there.

Some routines didn't change, though.

Every three months she wrote a letter she would never send. She always put a stamp on the corner and had it prepped to be sent, but never put it down the mailbox. They piled up in a drawer underneath her tax return receipts, chronologically ordered and dated appropriately. It briefly occurred to her that she would probably save the letters (along with the household cat and of course every child) if the orphanage were to catch fire. Of course she wouldn't even let a fire occur anyway, but she digressed.

She used to dream about sending those letters out and getting his responses like a real pen pal would. She stopped thinking about those thoughts after a month or two however, only because it made her become a worrywart little girl again. He wouldn't like it if she were so dependent on him.

…Though sometimes, she wondered if he really was out there at all.


	3. Home

Kouga was alone and he couldn't remember how or why he was here, of all places. He hadn't seen Saori after all of this time and he still didn't know for sure about what he was supposed to do with himself. Mars was still out there, that much he knew, but he was just given a pat on the back by the remaining Gold Saints and bam, everything was left at that.

So he decided to go on a walk. He kept walking and walking, his Cloth Stone bobbing against him as he strode. Haruto had shed off from him first, or maybe it was Eden first. After them Ryuhou eventually flaked away, followed by Yuna and Souma. All of his friends vanished from him and Kouga didn't care.

He wasn't sure about a lot of things, he noticed.

A thirteen year old generally doesn't know about a lot of things, even if the world of Saints had people extraordinary by the time they hit twenty.

How did that work, anyhow?

He tripped on a crack and caught himself with a face full of cement.

The sting of sidewalk burned more intensely than the punches he had sustained over his long battles.

He attempted to pick himself back up, sitting on his knees and looking down the dimly lit street.

He was lost in the middle of nowhere with no real itinerary.

Did he come here to die or something?

"I'm so alone," Kouga murmured, pushing his palm against his cheek.

He wobbled to his feet and went forwards, deeper into the vague city streets. The world blurred harder into a confounded mix between dream and reality, illusion and fiction. Kouga felt his heart and soul separate from his body and mind, a distancing only compared to blood loss.

He hit the ground again; though this time around, he could feel someone else coming to him.

He felt naked and unprotected for what was about to happen next.

"Don't cry," a woman's voice cooed into his ear after pulling him into her embrace. In the name of every god that ever existed, she felt so _warm and comforting._

Kouga's mouth gaped open, attempting to form words but only managed to make a strangled noise. His breath quickened when her hands pulled him taut against her, the softness in her touch and skin electrifying his senses back into action. The world around them was unidentifiable still, but the wonderous nostalgia she brought to him all with one hug tore apart his turmoil.

She helped him stand, allowing him to distance himself in all of his nervousness. He hastily separated from her though again, he wasn't sure why he was doing what he was doing. They locked eyes.

Her hair was messy and blended with the night sky, her eyes a glistening green. She was much older than he was, but felt young at heart. Why was he calling her young at heart?

"Are you alright?" she asked gently, "was I too sudden to hug you? It looked like you really needed it."

"I um. I'm not…I mean…" Kouga fumbled, eyeing the concrete to avert his shame.

She only giggled softly. She really was young at heart, "I'm sorry about that. Do you need a place to stay?"

Something inside of him broke. Kouga began to stammer, his eyes watering. His body shook and convulsed, something hard and something powerful slamming into his composure in violent waves.

_Stay?_

Someone was asking him to _stay with them?_ He had been on the run for so long, he had been fleeing from people that didn't want him to stay...and now, out of nowhere, a stranger is offering him a place to stay and belong? Was he always longing for a place to stay? Was he always longing for familial place?

Kouga wasn't sure why he was feeling the way he did, but his knees gave way and crushed him. He fell to the ground, resting on his knees and threw himself forwards as she came down to join him. They were a crumpled, tangled mess. His fingers knotted into the straps of her apron, and she held him up so as not to let him fall.

Kouga was floating on a cloud as he wept.

_The reason why I left them was to find comfort they couldn't give me._


	4. Words & Action

A/N: Hi. Um. The italicized + bold print is the letter. It's just. It's just as it is. I'm sorry.

* * *

She wondered if she was dreaming when she filed the various letters in the mail this evening and found one written for her. Not in the name of the orphanage, but for her.

The scrawl on the front was messy and boyish, as if written by someone that hardly had any time or practice to write. She laughed at the thought of a six year old randomly writing her a letter. Her humor quickly left when she realized who really sent her a letter and a crumpled dried flower inside the envelope.

**_Dear Miho_**

**_I'm sorry I haven't sent anything this whole time. I kind of wish we got email or something like that but I can't remember if you have email or whatever. Not a big deal I made sure this got sent when we were in a big city (was a big pain in the ass but I did it!). _**

**_Are you ok?_**

**_I mean I bet you are. Actually maybe I should ask if you're doing WELL. Well is better than OK. I'm doing OK myself. I'm sorry to say that. How long has it been since we've all been together you know? _**

"Twelve years," she remarked quietly.

**_I've seen so much, Miho. I wish I could just talk about it with you like we used to as kids. You were the only person that didn't really get mad when I ranted. Ok, maybe you got a little mad sometimes! _**

**_Don't get me wrong I've always got my compadres' backs! But sometimes, you know…Shiryu's always so calm and makes everything I say seem kiddy, Hyoga's the same, Ikki doesn't even bother listening, and Shun just pretends I'm a kid all over again. I guess what I'm saying is that I miss you, I think._**

**_Ok wow what am I saying I really miss you. I'm really sorry if this isn't all that well written (I haven't really made a letter ever. Oops). All of this is in pen too and I don't have any more paper to write with either! *sigh*_**

**_I wonder if you still remember me or if this letter means anything to you. I guess over the years I've gotten a lot more doubt going on. It sucks, the whole growing up thing sometimes._**

**_But I really hope this reaches you. And I really hope you still think about our friendship and stuff every now and then. I still do. _**

**_See you,_**

**_- Seiya_**

She folded the letter back into its crumpled thirds just as it was in the envelope, wiping the tears that had welled in her eyes as she read. She had been spending the past years telling herself to stop thinking about him, or at least getting so worked up about him, but sometimes…maybe it was just the tone he used that they'd be seeing each other soon for the most part. Or the way that his mood seemed to drop towards the end of the letter, the prospect that they'd _never see each other again_ dawning on him…

Sometimes a little crying was needed.

Two knocks on the window changed all of that.

The air was cold since it was two in the morning in the middle of winter but she couldn't feel a thing anyway. There were about a thousand thoughts running through her mind but she had no capability of expressing herself with logical words. It was fair to say no woman at twenty-five would ever really be able to think coherently if they were walking on air, steadied by warm, calloused hands.

They only needed to look into each other's eyes to remember everything they ever wanted to say had just been expressed in a single glance.

Seiya held Miho in his arms and kissed her with a warm and encompassing force. They were tied together in the middle of a cold winter's night, suspended on the golden wings of Sagittarius.

**_P.S: I love you._**


	5. Stars

Kouga let out a strangled cry and whimpered into a stranger's arms. With each shuddering noise that came from him he could feel the slightest sensation of relief overcoming him as his stranger savior's arms remained around his body.

A stranger savior saving a saint: what an ironic image.

The woman felt so comforting to him. About as comforting as Saori had been, or rather…

Like a mother, he wanted to say. The woman-stranger felt like a mother to him.

She sat quietly with him and gently combed his hair, something that instantly eased him. How did she know petting him like that would make him feel better? He stirred slightly in a panic, feeling paranoid.

Again, she started to ease him when she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's alright, don't be scared. I take care of the other children here too."

He was at an orphanage, that's right.

He continued to cry anyways, unsure if he was able to stop himself anymore. She never asked him or judged him about his reasons, and neither seemed to mind that he would probably never say what was making him cry because he didn't know himself. The sleeves of her pink t-shirt darkened from his tears.

Miho never asked the name of the boy crying in her arms that night. But she felt like she knew him. His eyes, his features as a whole…they were so strong and yet so innocent.

The boy reminded her of someone she cared about very deeply. Much like the son she miscarried thirteen years ago.

Kouga looked up at the woman and finally managed to smile; he was crossed between wonder and grief. He wasn't sure how he had ended up here, or why he stumbled his way to an orphanage and cried long and awkwardly into a stranger's arms. Something was guiding him, though, he knew that much.

Was it a past experience or something? Held by the Pegasus Cloth?

Did the Pegasus Cloth feel his own sadness and guide him, slowly and silently, to the orphanage? Or was it an intense need leftover inside of the old horse's cloth? If that were true, then…wouldn't that mean Seiya had some personal feelings about this place and they were being transmitted to Kouga subliminally?

"Are you feeling a little better now?" she urged.

"Um…wh-what?" Kouga murmured, finally snapping out of his stupor.

"You smiled a little, and your crying has sort of stopped," she said lightly, thumbing away another stray tear by his cheek.

"I um…yeah…yeah, kind of."

"You look a little confused."

Kouga chuckled lowly. He was easy to read to her especially. He always got mocked for that sort of thing.

"I am. I don't know where I am, but I feel like I've been here before."

"Are you looking for someone?" she asked.

"I don't know…maybe. You see I um. Sometimes I get these feelings. Sometimes I get these feelings when I…I sort of experience something someone else did."

"Like a past life, then."

Kouga nodded. Explaining Sainthood to an ordinary person probably wasn't going to go over well. Much to his surprise she continued with her voice even and soothing.

"I think everybody is trying to find a place to belong, a place to stay. Sometimes we get swept up and can't tell where we are anymore. But I like to think, that if you have a place you really care for, no matter where you're from or where you are, you'll find your way back somehow."

Tears edged from Kouga's eyes again; how was she able to do this to him? Prod at his most sensitive bits without much effort? Much to his confusion she simply wiped his tears again.

"Look, the sky is very clear tonight."

Kouga turned slightly, eyeing the mass of sparkly lights above him. He noted the woman's finger pointing to a certain cluster. He could sort of see a shape if he drew an imaginary line between the vague shapes.

"That one's the Pegasus Constellation. Sometimes, when I get really sad inside…I think about that constellation," she remarked with a smile, her eyes never leaving the simple pattern.

"Why's that?"

"Pegasus is a winged horse. If a Pegasus ever gets lost, all you have to do is spread your wings and fly home. You'll always find your way if you really believe in it…"

Kouga shivered slightly, her words reaching him in a way he wasn't quite sure of. How did she know his constellation? Maybe, given her age…_did she know Seiya?_

He ended up asking a question only semi-related to Seiya.

"How do you know so much about constellations?"

"I knew someone that really liked them. His…favorite was the Pegasus Constellation," she replied back, smiling in _reverie_, was it? Her eyes never left the star pattern in the sky.

"Your friend, um…" Kouga murmured as he watched the stars, never moving, "do you think—"

"He's out there, somewhere. We haven't seen each other in a long time."

For a moment, Kouga could have sworn he had just seen the stars in the Pegasus Constellation twinkle, and a tiny stream following one passing through it, as if shot by a golden arrow. Was that a shooting star he just saw? Or was that…

Kouga's senses abruptly stopped flickering about as he fell asleep. His grief exhausted him, and it was only fitting he'd fall into slumber after being comforted.

"He's out there somewhere…" she said quietly, "_He has to be."_


End file.
